Today’s prompt is “Focus on a nutrient”. I decided to loosley translate that into, my favourite food that has wonderful nutritional content. Enter, the King/Queen of the the nutrient world, the amazing coconut.
Coconut oil
I love all things coconut. I love the smell, body washes, shampoo’s, perfumes, bubble baths.
I love the taste, Lamingtons (if you are not Australian, you will probably not be familiar with these, but just know they are delicious and covered in coconut), young coconut meat, coconut milk, CocoLatte (see my day one post).
I love the amazing end results of using coconut oil, soft skin, silky hair. Is there nothing this wonderful product cannot do?
Coconut water
I have added below some links to interesting sites I found regarding the use of coconut oil. I hope you enjoy browsing and learning some new ways to use Coconuts and Coconut oil.
There are only two kinds of people in this world, those that LOVE Tuna Casserole and those that HATE Tuna Casserole. Interesting side note here, would it be the same people who love or hate Christmas fruit cake…..I LOVE both 🙂
This recipe uses mashed chick peas as the Tuna substitute. I mashed them with a fork so that they did not get too smooth.
The “fishy” taste comes from dulse flakes, a mild seaweed with a fresh salty side to it, perfect for this recipe.
Enjoy,
Classic Tuna(less) Casserole
Serves 4
1 can chickpeas drained and mashed with a fork
2 cups cooked pasta (I used mini lasagne noodles)
1/2 onion finely diced
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 or 2 Tblspns dulse flakes (depending on how much of a “fishy” taste you like)
1 tspn lemon pepper
crushed potato chips (enough to cover top)
2 Tblspns nutritional yeast
Combine all ingredients except potato chips and nutritional yeast,
Put in casserole dish. Cover with crushed potato chips, sprinkle with nutritional yeast,
Bake uncovered in 325 F oven for 20 mins till bubbly.
Don’t you love to make new friends….I know I do. Since stating this blog I have found so many wonderful vegans around the world and now consider a lot of them friends.
This year is the third time I have participated in Vegan MoFo and each year, one new friend stands out. So for today’s post, I thought I would introduce you to them and showcase some of their wonderful vegan recipe’s. Please visit their blogs and enjoy their great content.
2013 was my first year blogging and during Vegan MoFo I found Luca, from the vegan kitchen of dr caligari. Luca, who is from Torino, Italy posted the most amazing recipes of cupcakes I have ever seen. He posted everything from:
Tapenade filled cupcakes with tzatziki and caramelised garlic topping
Then in 2014, I was lucky enough to come across Thom at Don’t Switch Off The Light a great blog of positive messages and tasty recipes. It doesn’t hurt that Thom is from my home country of Australia either.
Now here we are in 2015 and I have had the great fortune to meet the soul behind VeganNeeds, helping us all transition to the vegan lifestyle.
Please take a moment and visit these great blogs. Unfortunately, Luca does not appear to be blogging anymore, but all the amazing cupcake recipes are still there.
Have a great remainder of day eight. Now off to work out exactly how I will be able to recreate the most retro meal I can think of for tomorrow……Tuna Casserole……complete with crushed potato chips on top…..yum
Make and/or eat some thing inspired by a book or film.
Day seven of Vegan MoFo and it is the delightful Bridget Jones Diary inspired, Blue Leek and Potato Soup.
The Diary of Bridget Jones is one of my favourite books and movies. I love how imperfect she is. If you want a good laugh, then this is the movie for you.
Bridget Jones Blue Leek and Potato Soup
Now, of course you do not have to turn the soup blue……I did , just for fun with a couple of drops of blue food colouring. Poor Bridget had the misfortune of using blue string to tie up the leek in her soup which gave her the blue version.
blue-soup
This soup is delicious in either colour.
Enjoy,
(Blue) Leek and Potato Soup
Serves 4 – 6
2 Tblspns olive oil
5 medium potato’s peeled and roughly chopped
3 leeks, trimmed, thoroughly washed and sliced
4 cloves garlic chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tblspn lemon juice
salt to taste
finely chopped green onions for garnish if wanted.
Sauté the potato’s, leeks and garlic in the olive oil until vegetables start to soften a little and brown. Add the vegetable stock and simmer covered for 30 mins until the vegetables are soft.
Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. (or you can wait until the soup cools a little then place in small batches in a blender and process. Be Very Careful that the soup is not too hot or it could explode out of the top of the blender and cause serious burns).
Add coconut milk, lemon juice and stir to combine.,
Wow, here we are at day six already, time is flying by as usual. There should be a term “mofo time” kind of like tropical island time, but the opposite. In mofo land, time speeds up and flies by before you know it.
Beefless Wellington
Anyway back to mofo day six and our prompt “Re-create a restaurant meal”. I have two restaurant meal recipes for you. The first is Beefless Wellington. You see this at high end restaurants and I wanted to try and replicate the concept of roast beef smothered in a mushroom garlic pesto then wrapped in puff pastry and baked to perfection.
KFC (Kentucky Fried Cauliflower)
The second is a take on KFC, but this time it is Kentucky Fried Cauliflower. Now, there could be a debate on whether KFC is a restaurant, but I am not going there. Last summer I did a post on this and explained how I live one block “down wind” of a local KFC and the aroma that greets me almost on a daily basis has me drooling in my driveway. So for this post, I will link back to that post for the commentary regarding KFC and here for a recipe to satisfy your “finger licking good” cravings.
Enjoy,
Beefless Wellington
Beefless Wellington
Serves 4
1 beefless roast
2 Tblspns Dijon mustard
2 Tblspns olive oil
1/2 lb mushrooms cleaned and sliced
4 Tblspns dry red wine
3 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 tspn thyme
6 – 8 slices vegan chicken or turkey
1 packet vegan puff pastry
2 Tblspns non dairy milk
Beefless Roast
1 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
4 Tblspns chickpea flour
4 Tblspns nutritional yeast
2 tspns onion power
2 tspns garlic powder
1 Tblspn vegan worsteshire sauce
1/4 tspn ground pepper
1 cup water
1 Tblspn olive oil
1 Tblspn tamari
1 tspn browning liquid (optional)
8 cups vegetable broth for simmering
Combine all liquid ingredients. In separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add liquid ingredients to dry and mix well. If necessary add a little more chickpea flour to make a dough like ball. Knead for 5 mins to develop gluten. Form into a loaf. Wrap in cheesecloth loosely and tie the ends.
Bring vegetable broth to a boil, lower dough in and bring back to a slow simmer. Cover and simmer (do not boil) for on hour turning occasionally. Allow to cool in broth. When cool, remove from broth and put in a Ziploc bag with 1/4 cup of broth and refrigerate overnight,
Brush roast with mustard on all sides. Preheat oven to 400 F,
Place mushrooms, garlic and thyme in food processor and process into a pesto. Add to frying pan with olive oil. Sauté for 10 mins until mushrooms have released their moisture and most of it has cooked down. Cool.
Lay out piece of plastic wrap on counter. Place turkey/chicken slices on top overlapping to make a square that is slightly wider than your roast and long enough to wrap completely around.
Spread mushroom pesto on top of turkey slices. Place roast in the middle and wrap with turkey slices using the plastic wrap to help you roll it up. Tuck in ends as you go. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 mins.
Lay pastry down on lightly floured surface and roll out to a rectangle slightly larger than the previous turkey square.
Place roast in middle of pastry and roll up inside pastry, securing the ends and making sure the roast is completed encased.
Place seam side down on a baking tray. lightly score the top with slits to allow steam to escape. Brush with milk, bake in oven 25 – 25 mins until golden.
Beefless Wellington
Let sit 10 mins before slicing and serving with your favourite gravy.
Day five of Vegan Mofo and we are sharing the best sandwich ever.
Toasted Ruben
Before I was vegan, I loved a good toasted Ruben sandwich. Layers of corned beef topped with sauerkraut, cheese, russian dressing and mustard, yum.
Toasted Ruben
Obviously, I no longer have the corned beef, but, through the wonders of seitan, I can now make a very close replica of this iconic sandwich.
Enjoy,
Toasted Ruben
Toasted Ruben
Bread of choice
Vegan Cheese
Saurkraut
Mustard
Corned Beefless
1 Cup Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Tblspn dried onion flakes
1 Tblspn smoked paprika
1 Tblspn ground fennel
1 Tblspn ground caraway
1/2 Tblspn salt
1 tspn dry hot mustard powder
1/2 tspn ground cloves
1/2 tspn white pepper
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tblspn Maple syrup
1/2 Tblspn balsamic vinegar
Russian Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn Dijon mustard
1 tpn grated onion
1 Tblspn hot chilli sauce
Toasted Ruben
Prepare Corned Beefless:
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry. Mix together to form a dough. Knead for 2 -5 minutes to develop gluten strands.
Shape into a log and wrap in cheesecloth loosely, tying the ends.
Bring large pot of water to a boil (if you want to add additional flavour, add a cut onion, a few chopped garlic cloves and 2 or 3 tablespoons of soy sauce to the water). Place gluten log into the boiling water. Bring back to a slow simmer and allow to continue simmering (not boiling) for 1 1/2 hours. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool in simmering liquid.
When cool, remove from cheesecloth and place in Ziploc bag with 1/4 cup of simmering liquid. Place in the fridge and leave overnight. When ready to use, slice thinly.
Russian Dressing:
Blend all but the olive oil together in a blender. Once totally combined, very slowly drizzle the olive oil in while continuing to blend on high.
Toasted Ruben
To assemble,
Toast bread slices of choice, top with multiple slices of Corned Beefless, add a generous amount of sauerkraut. Top with vegan cheese, mustard and Russian dressing.
Tell us about a weird food combo that you love. Vegan MoFo Day Four.
Cold Tomato Hot Toast Combo
Today’s prompt was a little hard for me. I don’t think I have any real weird food combinations that I love. I do however have a couple of “weird” food rituals that I cannot help but follow.
The first is my “Cold Tomato, Hot Toast” combo. This is a very selfish dish, but really, we are worth it and need to put ourselves first occasionally.
Now, while the combo of tomato on toast isn’t exactly earth shattering, the way I “have” to eat it is.
There is a very specific ritual that must be followed.
First: You must have a tomato that is as large (or as close as you can get to it) as the piece of toast you will be putting it on.
Second: The tomato must be cold. This means that you have to cut it quickly and have it ready to be placed on the toast.
Third: The toast must be hot, straight from the toaster…..
Fourth: The coconut oil must be room temperature and easy to spread on the toast
Finally: And this is the most important step. You Must be ready to eat this delicacy as soon as it is assemble
The toast is hot and crispy, the coconut oil is melted and buttery and the tomato is cold. This hot cold sensation in your mouth is wonderful.
Cold Tomato Hot Toast Combo
My boyfriend knows that if I am making this, I cannot, “just come here….look at this…..or help out for a second”. I don’t have a second to spare if I want this hot and cold combo to work. So while this is not a weird food combo, I have been told it is a weird ritual….:)
Enjoy,
Hot Toast, Cold Tomato Combo
Serves one (never try and make this for more than one as the timing will not work)
2 slices toast (don’t cook until everything is ready)
room temp coconut oil to spread on the hot toast
1 large tomato, cold straight from the fridge, sliced in large slices
Have the tomato sliced and waiting on the side, make the toast, spread with coconut oil, top with cold tomato slices and eat Immediately.,.,.you can take a millisecond to add salt if you must.
Day three of MoFo and all is well……. Well, sort of.
Zucchetti with Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
I was browsing around the internet, soaking in all the wonderful vegan posts, and wham, go attacked by a computer virus. Basically the virus attached a secret encryption to all my files and the only way to get my files back was to go to a website and pay to get the secret code…………..I think not……. fortunately I do regular back ups, so a quick loading of the original dvd’s that came with the computer, everything is wiped off and reloaded. Thank goodness for external hard drives and backups. A little inconvenient but nothing too serious.
Zucchetti with Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
Continuing on with the theme of quick and easy (didn’t take too much time or effort to restore my computer) and delicious, todays recipe is for Zucchetti with Sundried Tomato Marinara Sauce. You could sub out they zucchetti (spiralized zucchini) with a pasta of your choice if you prefer.
This meal can be totally raw or if you like (as I did) you can add in fried mushrooms.
Enjoy,
Zucchetti with Sun Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce
Serves 2
2 or 3 zucchini spiralized (or 2 cups of cooked pasta of choice)
1 Cup sun dried tomato’s soaked in 1/2 cups hot water for 10 mins (reserve water)
1 Tblspn olive oil
2 plum tomato’s
1 handful fresh basil
1 garlic clove
Sauteed mushrooms and nutritional yeast if desired to garnish
Place spiralized zucchini on paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
Combine drained sun dried tomato’s, olive oil, plum tomato’s, basil and garlic in a blender or food processor. Process until fairly smooth. Add reserved tomato soaking water a tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Place zucchini on two plates. Spoon marinara sauce over top and sprinkle with sautéed mushrooms and nutritional yeast if using.
You may also gently heat the marinara sauce in a small pot before serving if you prefer a cooked sauce.
I like the sauce “raw” and it avoids one more pot to clean, adding to the “quick and easy” part of the recipe…….and it truly is delicious.
So, I am cheating a little with this one. Technically, I did not have Mac and Cheese when I was a child. Growing up in Australia it was not something I was aware of, however, once I moved to Canada, I soon found this warm, gooey, cheesy, pasta and fell in love at first bite. I soon made up for lost time and probably consumed an entire childhoods worth in the first couple of years living here. So, I guess this is my “second childhood” meal memory.
Roasted Red Pepper Mac and Cheese
As a vegan, I searched around for a great version of this dish and finally found this recipe by Isa Chandra at the Post Punk Kitchen. If you have not yet visited her site, you should head on over there pronto. The recipe Roasted Red Pepper Mac and Cheese is so good, when I made it, I ate the entire pot full.
Enjoy,
Roasted Red Pepper Mac & Cheese
By Post Punk Kitchen
Yield: 2 large servings
1/2 pound macaroni or other small pasta
3/4 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 2 hours
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced medium
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tablespoons organic cornstarch
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
1 roasted red pepper (jarred or homemade)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons pizza seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1. Preheat a 2 quart sauce pot over medium heat. Sauté onions in oil with a pinch of salt for 5 to 7 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds or so, then transfer to a blender or food processor.
2. Boil a large pot of salted water for cooking the pasta. Once boiling, cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Drain the cashews and add them to the blender along with the vegetable broth, corn starch, nutritional yeast, red peppers, tomato paste, pizza seasoning, salt, mustard and turmeric. Blend until very smooth. Scrape down the sides every 30 seconds or so and test for smoothness.
4. Transfer the sauce in the blender back to the sauce pot where you cooked the onions. Turn the heat up to medium and let cook, stirring very often, until thickened. This should take between 10 and 15 minutes. Taste for salt. It should taste slightly salty because you’re going to be pouring it on the pasta.
5. The pasta should be done while the sauce is thickening, so drain and place pasta back in the pot you cooked it in. Set aside.
6. When sauce is thickened, add it to the pasta in the pot, and use a large slotted spoon to mix well, taking care not to break the pasta.
With the new format this year of daily topic prompts we get to have an even better sense of community and connection. So, I am excited to see what my fellow Vegan MoFo’ers are having for breakfast.
For me, breakfast is not usually a daily occurence, I am more the “coffee till noon” type of gal. However, on special occasions (the start of MoFo for instance) or lazy weekend mornings I do like to have all the goodies.
For today, I have a fresh juice guaranteed to wake up your taste buds and energize your cells.
Cucumber Citrus Ginger Juice
Next, it is time for protein packed pancakes with fresh berries, a dollop of aquafaba (a relatively new phenomenon sweeping the vegan cooking scene) and a drizzle of local home-made maple syrup.
Banana White Bean Pancakes with Berries and AquaFaba Cream
Finally, the pièce de résistance rich hot coffee blended with coconut oil and whipped into a frothy latte like heavenly beverage. I love strong rich coffee and I take it black, no cream or sugar so I can enjoy the full flavour.
CocoLatte
Then you add a little high quality, organic coconut oil and blend it all together, the flavour of the coffee seems to intensify and become richer and the texture is wonderful. I couldn’t resist adding a dollop of the AquaFaba Cream and it magically transformed into a latte/cappuccino.
CocoLatte
Thanks for sharing breakfast with me.
Enjoy,
Cucumber Citrus Ginger Juice
Makes 2 servings
1 english cucumber
1 apple cored
1 orange peeled
2 carrots peeled if not organic
handful baby spinach
1 inch nob of fresh ginger
Process all ingredients through a juicer. Drink immediately.
Banana White Bean Pancakes with Berries and AquaFava Cream
Banana White Bean Pancakes
8-10 servings
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white beans
1 banana
1 tspn psyllium husk
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/3 cup soy or almond milk
1/2 tspn vanilla
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
Mix chia seeds with water and let sit overnight (or at least 1 hour)
Combine all ingredients together in bowl and mix or blend to pancake consistency.
Cook over medium heat until lightly browned on both sides.
Serve with fresh berries AquaFaba Cream and maple syrup.
AquaFaba Cream
Makes approx 2 cups
Liquid from a large can of chickpeas
1 tspn cream of tartar
1 tspn vanilla
1 Tblspn (or more depending on taste) fine sugar
Beat the chickpea liquid and cream of tartar on high for at least 15 minutes. The liquid will turn into a stiff “egg white” merengue type texture. Add vanilla and then the sugar gradually while continuing to beat until totally combined. You may need to adjust the amount of vanilla and sugar depending on your preference.
Use as a topping for your pancakes and also to add the foam top to your CocoLatte.
CocoLatte
CocoLatte
Makes 1 cup
1 cup strong back freshly brewed coffee (I use an espresso bend)
1 teaspoon organic coconut oil
Add the coffee and coconut oil to a blender. Blend on highest speed for 30 seconds till frothy.
Pour into coffee cup and enjoy as is or top with AquaFaba cream.
stairway to vegan 